bioinnovel Chapter 204 Hyotei would not take advantage of someone's misfortune, nor would it deliberately
Chapter 204 Hyotei would not take advantage of someone's misfortune, nor would it deliberately
Wang Yueling walked slowly, her steps steady.
The wind ruffled the blond hair beside his headband, then gently fell back down. Many spectators along the way recognized him, whispering that he was the acting coach of Hyotei, saying that he was handsome and his tactics were truly impressive.
Ignoring the stares, Mochizuki Ryou stopped about a meter away from the Seigaku rest area.
The Seigaku members, who had been focused on the field, suddenly saw him approaching, and the air around them momentarily fell silent. They all instinctively looked over, their eyes filled with wariness and a hint of hostility.
Tezuka was the first to react, taking half a step forward and nodding slightly to him: "Coach Mochizuki."
Without looking at anyone else, Mochizuki Ryo's gaze first fell on Tezuka Kunimitsu's left arm. His gaze lingered for less than a second before quickly returning to Tezuka's face.
"Tezuka...Captain."
He deliberately emphasized the title, his tone was indifferent, and he couldn't detect any emotion. "There's something I think I should remind you of."
Tezuka noticed his gaze, and his left hand, hanging by his side, suddenly clenched at the fingertips. The old wound felt heavy, as if it were being gripped tightly by something.
Mochizuki Ryo spoke slowly, each word clear enough for the Seigaku members to hear, "Kawamura's arm is most likely suffering from overuse injury with tendon edema, and there are already signs of tendon tearing. After two more games, it won't just be a matter of health anymore; his arm will be truly ruined."
Stopping now allows the tendon to recover, but if it's truly torn...
"By then, forget about tennis, you'll struggle to even make sushi for the rest of your life."
Tezuka looked up at him, his gaze behind his glasses turning cold. "This is Kawamura's own choice. We respect his will."
"Respect?" Wang Yueling sneered, showing no mercy. Her words were laced with undisguised sarcasm. "The coach's and captain's responsibility isn't to go along with the player's wishes. It's to lend a hand when he's emotional and can't distinguish right from wrong. He's gambling his future on the outcome, and you're going to gamble with him too?"
"Or do you think winning this round is more important than his hand?"
He chuckled softly, his gaze fixed on Tezuka's left arm. His laughter was light, yet tinged with a hint of sarcasm. "That's true. After all, your team has always liked to follow the example of the top, pushing through injuries themselves, sacrificing their own interests for the greater good. They're used to letting the players choose for themselves. If they choose correctly, it's because the coach and captain provided excellent guidance; if they choose incorrectly, it's because the players had to fight hard. Either way, they're not at a loss."
"But... not everyone is lucky enough to be able to play on the court with old injuries. Some people lose their gamble and can never play again."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Seigaku members all changed.
Tezuka's left hand, hanging by his side, tightened suddenly, and a phantom pain shot through his old elbow injury, echoing the pain Kawamura felt on the field. Others might not have understood, but he knew that while the other person was ostensibly referring to Kawamura's hand injury, they were subtly mocking his own tendency to play injured and tacitly condoning his team members sacrificing their health for victory.
He looked up at the blond boy in front of him. The boy's eyes were calm, but they were like a knife, precisely stabbing him in the place he least wanted to touch.
He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found he had nothing to say.
The other party was telling the truth, and he had no right to say that the other party was wrong. He had indeed been hiding his old injury all along, and for the sake of the team, he had played with the injury and persevered until now.
He couldn't deny Kawamura's choice, just as he couldn't deny his past self.
"This is an internal matter for Seigaku." Fuji opened his eyes, took a few steps forward to stand next to Tezuka, and said in a colder tone, "Coach Mochizuki, there's no need for you to worry about it."
"I really can't be bothered to bother," Mochizuki Ryo shrugged, her tone nonchalant. "I just want to remind you all. Don't think we'll hold back just because our opponents are injured. Once you step onto the field, you have to be responsible for your choices."
Hyotei's players won't take advantage of others' misfortunes, but they also won't deliberately forfeit to do favors.
This kind of self-pitying sacrifice won't bring any rewards. We have no obligation to make the decisions to cut your losses... If you think you can win by playing the victim, you're mistaken.
After saying that, he turned and left.
"What do you mean?!"
Momoshiro took half a step forward, frowning. Oishi quickly reached out and grabbed him, gently shaking his head.
"Who do you think you are? What business is it of our Seigaku's?" Standing in the back row, the hot-tempered Arai couldn't wait any longer. He rushed out from behind, chin held high, neck stiff, glaring at Mochizuki Ryo, his tone very aggressive:
"Kawamura-senpai fought so hard for Seigaku! That's the spirit of perseverance! Unlike your Hyotei, Kawamura-senpai was injured so badly, and you're still making sarcastic remarks. Hyotei is so cold-blooded! Now you're even trying to persuade us to withdraw, have you no shame?!"
"Y-yes!" Horio Satoshi nodded excitedly, clutching his support flag, his face flushed red, and he timidly chimed in, "You Hyotei guys are only chasing points because Kawamura-senpai is injured! Now it's match point, why should we give up! Kawamura-senpai is determined, he'll definitely win! Don't be a hypocrite!"
Katsuro Kato and Katsuo Mizuno stood to the side, nodding in agreement without saying a word.
Wang Yueling didn't stop walking. She just turned her head and glanced at them with a playful look in her eyes, as if she were looking at a group of tantrum children.
There was no response.
As a veteran tennis player, arguing with a bunch of kids who have never played professionally or suffered serious injuries is pointless.
Mochizuki Ryo merely scoffed softly, her gaze returning to Tezuka, a cold smile playing on her lips. "I've said what I needed to say. Whether you listen or not is up to you."
"Oh, and one last thing to remind you. On the field, it's all about skill, not the severity of injuries or tears."
After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to walk back without looking back. His back was very straight, and his blond hair shone brightly in the sunlight, as if he didn't care about the insults he had just hurled at him.
"Hey! Don't go! Did your little secret get hit and you can't keep talking, huh..." Arai jumped up in anger, but Oishi stopped him with his hand.
"Alright, Arai," Oishi sighed. "That's enough."
Tezuka watched the boy's retreating figure, his lips pressed into a straight line. His left fist clenched and unclenched repeatedly. The old injury on his elbow throbbed faintly, as if echoing his current mood.
Fuji stood beside him, eyes wide open, his brown pupils reflecting the receding figure of Mochizuki Ryo, lost in thought. A self-deprecating smile played on his lips, though it was unclear who he was laughing at.
The rest of the Seigaku members remained silent. They could hear the sarcasm in the other person's words, and felt uncomfortable, but they couldn't bring themselves to refute it convincingly.
Everyone knew in their hearts that Mochizuki Ryo was telling the truth. After all, everyone had seen how badly Kawamura's hand was injured.
But no one is willing to admit that the price of this victory may be too high for them to bear.
-
As Wang Yueling walked back to the stands, he could feel several pairs of eyes staring at his back, some angry, some embarrassed, and some complicated.
He didn't pay any attention, and slowly sat back down in the seat next to Yukimura. He muttered under his breath, "Quels enfants."
His tone carried a hint of helplessness.
The wind lifted the hem of his clothes, carrying a hint of summer heat.
After Wang Yueling settled down, she picked up the water glass that the butler had placed on the chair in advance, touched the cool glass with her lips, took a sip, and the cool tea flavor mixed with a hint of mint spread on her tongue.
The liquid slid down my throat, suppressing the slight irritation in my heart.
"Are you angry?" Yukimura turned his head to look at him, gently stroking the kitten's fur with his fingertips. Seeing that he remained silent, he gave him a questioning look.
"I wouldn't say I'm angry." Mochizuki Ryo shrugged, placed his water glass on his lap, twirled the glass between his fingers, and stared at Kawamura's retreating figure on the field. "I've said what I needed to say. How they choose is their business. I don't need to worry about other people's lives."
"You," Yukimura said with a smile and a shake of his head, "You meant well, but you had to say it so hurtfully."
"Good intentions need to be listened to." Mochizuki Ryo spread her hands and complained righteously, "Tezuka looks calm, but he's more stubborn than anyone else. His own logic of sacrifice is useless no matter how much others talk about it."
He paused, his tone softening slightly: "I just feel sorry for Kawamura; his perfectly good hands were ruined like this. He'll have trouble even holding a sushi knife after graduation. It's a real shame."
"And I'm also a little disappointed."
"Tezuka actually just watched his teammates charge forward with nothing but passion, and when they got into the ditch, he didn't even lift a finger to help them. He didn't even say a harsh word. He called it respecting the players' will, but in reality, he didn't want to take responsibility for stopping the game and losing. In the end, victory was more important than people."
Luna woke up groggily in Yukimura's arms. Hearing Mochizuki Ryo's voice, she sat up, pulled her paws out of the little fish plush toy, and clung to Yukimura's arm, wanting him to hold her. She kept meowing and wagging her tail like a little motor.
Wang Yueling reached out and took the kitten, cradling it in his arms. The little guy immediately clung to his collar and rubbed his head against his chin, feeling soft and fluffy.
"You're such a charmer." Wang Yueling chuckled as she was nuzzled, and scratched its chin with her fingertips.
The kitten purred twice, snuggled into his arms, found a comfortable position, and began to doze off again. Its little tail draped over his wrist, occasionally swaying gently.
"You're right." Yukimura watched the interaction between the human and the cat for a moment, then turned his head and said in a soft voice that was easily dispersed by the wind, "If you don't even have health, what's the point of talking about tennis? As a leader, you shouldn't put your players in such a dilemma."
"However... Seigaku is a very traditional, old-fashioned school, and its tradition has always been like this. Everyone takes it for granted that they should sacrifice for the team, and no one dares to ask whether it's worth it."
"That's what makes it so terrible, and so disappointing." Wang Yueling lowered her head to pet the cat, a hint of regret flashing in her azure eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Mistaking self-pity for glory, and the coach's dereliction of duty for passion."
"Forget it! I've given them all the reminders I needed to. Whatever they choose is none of my business."
Luna sensed her owner's frustration, raised her little head, meowed at him, and gently shook the "Doritos" on her head, tempting him to pet it.
Wang Yueling chuckled and reached out to stroke the kitten's tail from the top of its head. The kitten comfortably squinted its eyes, and the purring switch in its throat was fully activated.
Yukimura nodded slightly and gave a soft "hmm".
He knew Ling's personality; she seemed nonchalant, but she was actually very soft-hearted.
The two spoke in low voices, only a few people nearby could hear them.
Sanada frowned but remained silent, clearly having taken it to heart. Yanagi's pen paused on the notebook, then he wrote the words "competitive ethics." Niou stroked his chin, lost in thought.
-
The discussions on the sidelines never stopped, one wave after another.
Among the group of Fudomine, Tachibana Yoshihira stood by the railing with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. He looked at Kawamura's trembling right hand, his expression complex.
"Oh my god, brother, isn't he pushing himself too hard? It's okay if he loses, there are still singles matches 2 and 1 later." Tachibana Anzu stood beside him, clutching the hem of her clothes, a little worried. "What will happen if his hand gets injured?"
Kamio smoothed his bangs and said with a sigh, "Xiao Xing is right. Is it really that big of a deal? It's just a game."
"He probably felt that if he didn't fight hard, the team wouldn't be able to win," Tachibana Yoshihira sighed.
Ishida stood beside them, gripping his racket bag strap tightly, his expression complex. He knew best how devastating the wavy shot was to the arm that Kawamura had learned from him. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Chengcheng is located in the southern part of Hunan.
Hanamura Aoi straightened the chain on her thin-rimmed glasses, looked at the two pairs of players resting on the field, and curled her red lips into a mocking smile. "Seigaku's coach is incompetent. No pre-match planning, no intervention during the match, just pushing the players to the front to tough it out."
Kajimoto nodded, his purple eyes remaining calm. "The risk assessment was terrible. In a power-based matchup, they didn't even set limits on how much power the players could unleash."
Leaning against the railing, Ruo Ren said lazily, "He's certainly passionate, but a bit silly. However… that substitute coach at Hyotei is quite interesting. He personally went over to remind the opponent; did he think the victory was too easy?"
Hanamura Aoi smiled but didn't reply. She watched Mochizuki Ryo's retreating figure, her interest deepening.
In the viewing area of St. Rudolph, Kanzuki flipped through his notebook, his pen tackling the paper. "Kawamura Takashi's muscle load data is already three times the normal level."
He said this while glancing at the field.
Kawamura had returned to the baseline, and the bandage on his right wrist was thicker than before. Ryuzaki Jin was still saying something over the Seigaku coaching bench, but Kawamura didn't turn around.
"The coach from Seigaku didn't even try to persuade him, and let him keep playing..." Mizuki looked away, her voice lowered, only her teammates could hear her, "Looks like they can't persuade him."
Akazawa followed his gaze to Kawamura's direction, sighed, and said, "He himself doesn't want to quit, and no amount of persuasion from others will change that. The problem is, why isn't anyone at Seigaku forcing him to quit?"
Guan Yue leaned back in her chair, twirling her bangs with her index finger, and after a pause, she continued, "Because those who have a way out don't need to gamble. Only those who have no way out treat this competition as their everything."
Akazawa glanced at him sideways but didn't ask any further questions.
Yuta stood beside him, watching Kawamura on the court, feeling a pang of sadness. He recalled how he had forced himself to practice despite his injuries in an attempt to prove himself to his brother, only to have it backfire.
In the end, he just sighed and didn't say anything.
At Yamabuki Middle School, Sengoku Kiyosumi stroked his chin, looking regretful. "So incredibly unlucky. He was already weaker, yet he still tried to fight head-on. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?"
Akutsu leaned against the pillar behind him, hands in his pockets, gave a cold snort, and looked away.
"cut!"